Burr entered public life at the only period in our history when a man of his stamp of mind could have played a conspicuous part.  At the close of the Revolution, in addition to the Tories, there were already two political factions in New York.  As early as 1777 the Whigs had divided upon the election for Governor, and George Clinton was chosen over Philip Schuyler.  The division then created continued after the peace, but the differences were, at first, purely personal.  Schuyler was the leader of a party made up of a few great families, most prominent among which were the Van Rensselaers and Livingstons.  The Van Rensselaers have never been particularly distinguished except as the possessors of a great estate; the Livingstons, on the other hand, second only to the great Dutch family in wealth, far surpassed them in political power and reputation.  The Van Rensselaers and Schuylers were connected with the Livingstons by marriage; and this powerful association, made more powerful by the banishment of the wealthy inhabitants of New York city and Long Island, was still further strengthened by the connection with it of Alexander Hamilton, who married a daughter of Philip Schuyler, and John Jay, who married a daughter of William Livingston.  The Schuyler faction excited that opposition which wealth and social and political influence always excite.  A party arose which was composed of men of every condition and shade of opinion,—­those who were galled by the exclusiveness of the aristocracy,—­those who had joined the opposition to Washington,—­the young men who had made their reputation during the war and were eager for professional and political promotion,—­and all those who were converts to the new doctrines of government which the dispute with England had originated.  At the head of these was George Clinton.  Though a man of liberal education, and trained to a liberal profession, he had not the showy and attractive accomplishments which distinguished his rivals; but he possessed in an extraordinary degree those more sturdy qualities of mind and character which, in a country where distinction is in the gift of the people, are always generously rewarded.  He had great aptitude for business, a clear and rapid judgment, and high physical and moral courage.  He was faithful to his friends, and though an unyielding, he was a magnanimous foe.  At a time when politics were looked upon almost wholly as the means of personal and family aggrandizement, and the motives of party conduct such as flow from the passions of men, he, more than any of his opponents, adhered to a consistent and not illiberal theory of public action.